November 11, 2022
The brief from today:
Noel Le Graet aligns with FIFA
French Football Federation (FFF) president, Noel Le Graet, came out with some statements that seem to align with FIFA’s recent letter to the countries participating in the World Cup. The communique released by FIFA last week encouraged the 32 nations set to be in Qatar to focus on football, and minimize the attention given to political issues. Of course one of the political issues being referenced includes LGBTQ+ rights in the host nation, a subject that some European nations plan to tackle head on. Ten European countries joined the One Love campaign in September, and one way they plan to bring attention to LGBTQ+ rights during the World Cup is for their various captains to wear armbands signifying support for the movement. Among these countries is France with goalkeeper and captain, Hugo Lloris, set to wear a rainbow colored armband. In response to this, Le Graet said during an interview, “We’re going to discuss it. But I’d rather [Lloris] doesn’t do it. We’re playing in a country which we must respect. But if we have to wear it, we’ll wear it. It’s not that I’m not in favor of this armband, but sometimes I think we want to lecture others so much that we should also look at what’s happening in our country.” While his remarks may be controversial, there is actually merit to his larger point about understanding that various cultures have different ways of seeing things. His request that France also have some of their own internal issues that require addressing before criticizing others, is also a point worth noting. Once again, however, Le Graet’s comments further illustrate how this World Cup stands very little chance of remaining apolitical.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino (left), and FFF president, Noel Le Graet (right) aim to avoid politics in Qatar
Senegal announce World Cup squad
Current AFCON winners, Senegal, announced their World Cup squad today, and all the attention was focused on whether Sadio Mane would make the cut. Mane was forced to leave his club side, Bayern Munich’s, recent Bundesliga match early due to an injured fibula. The injury itself is said to result in three to four weeks out, but both Bayern and Senegal refused to publicly rule out the attacker from the World Cup. Bayern took a conservative approach saying they would run tests before diagnosing, but Senegal have gone the more audacious route and included him in their World Cup squad. The mindset of Senegal coach, Aliou Cisse, is that if Mane can recover in two to three weeks, then he might still be able to count on him for the tail end of the group stage, or possibly the round of 16. Considering the immense role Mane plays within the Senegal squad, it hardly surprising that a gamble was made on his recovery. The responsibility is now on the team to get results before he’s healthy in order to actually see him play alongside them later in the tournament.
Senegal are desperate for Mane to get healthy as the World Cup approaches